How an Omega Villain Survive chapter 85

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Henry couldn’t think straight from the moment Edwin said they should reveal everything.

It wasn’t a big deal to disclose that he had taken the treasure.

It wasn’t something he intended to confess, but he also hadn’t felt the need to hide it at all costs.

But being bonded with Edwin was different.

That was a secret he could never reveal.

Yet Edwin wanted to disclose it—their secret…

“Edwin, we don’t have to make this complicated.”

Henry tried to reason with him.

Maybe he should have let Edwin charge ahead earlier instead of trying to stop him.

But regret was always too late, no matter how fast.

Why on earth would he suggest revealing their bond?

Henry grabbed Edwin’s hand, pulling him and intending to lead them out of there, anywhere away from this place.

“Let’s just leave. We’ll talk once we’re out.”

He wanted to understand why Edwin had changed his mind, but this was not the place.

However, unlike Henry earlier, Edwin didn’t follow his lead.

Instead, Edwin pulled Henry back, positioning him at his side.

“Edwin!”

“It’s better than letting the misunderstandings fester.”

“But that’s…”

Henry shook his head.

Admitting to their bond might clear up the falsehood that Edwin was a defective Alpha, but it would also make things irreversible.

“It’s not the prince you’re bonded to. It’s me.”

“…What?”

Edwin’s words caught Henry off-guard, as if he were pointing out the crux of the matter.

“You told me to let the world know I’m a normal Alpha. That’s what matters most, right?”

That day at Henry’s home, in the garden, Henry had told Edwin those very words.

But he had meant it for after they broke their bond and Edwin regained his standing as a normal Alpha.

“If I clear that up, there’s nothing else to worry about. Isn’t that right?”

“Edwin, I didn’t mean…”

He had meant to break the bond, not this.

But looking into Edwin’s eyes, Henry realized he was already crossing a river from which there was no turning back.

Edwin turned away from Henry, though he didn’t let go of his hand.

Their clasped hands tilted Henry’s body slightly in the direction Edwin was now facing.

The crowd parted, not just because of Edwin’s gaze but because of who stood behind them.

Edwin’s eyes met those of Duke Lorenz.

“You have quite a talent for disgracing the ducal family.”

The Duke looked at Edwin, now a public spectacle, with thinly veiled disdain.

If he were leaving, he should have gone. If not, he should have decisively handled the situation.

Instead, he was standing there like a fool, talking to that Timothy brat. It was pitiful.

Now, he was even drawing the Duke into this scene, souring his mood further.

“I have something to say.”

Edwin, who had been observing the expression of Duke Lorenz, spoke calmly.

His face showed no signs of being affected by the disdainful look his father was giving him.

“I heard the child of House Timothy possesses the treasure.”

It was a question of whether there was anything else worth mentioning, or if anything could be more important than that.

As Edwin nonchalantly replied to the duke’s sigh-laden words, he dropped a bombshell.

“I imprinted with Henry.”

A hush fell over the crowd, cutting off any murmurs.

The people who had been whispering about Edwin suddenly looked dumbfounded, their faces frozen in shock.

Those who doubted what they had just heard quickly realized the truth of Edwin’s statement upon seeing others’ equally stunned expressions.

The room fell so silent that even the sound of a pin dropping would have been deafening, until someone let out a hiccup.

“Oh no, we’re doomed.”

Henry’s small mutter seemed to break the spell, and the crowd erupted into a loud buzz of conversation.

The impact of the revelation was far greater than even the news of Henry taking the Grand Mage’s treasure.

Some people couldn’t stop hiccuping, while others began to demand an explanation.

Edwin, despite being a rather atypical Alpha, was still an Alpha.

Even so, imprinting with Henry should have been impossible.

People began speculating how it had happened, or whether Henry had manifested as an Omega, and when.

The treasure was now an afterthought.

There had never been a more interesting incident, and everyone’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, eager to understand what had happened.

“Imprinting, you say…”

Duke Lorenz was no different from the others.

He couldn’t immediately process what he had heard. As he slowly gathered his thoughts, he finally turned his gaze to Edwin.

For the first time, he noticed Edwin and Henry holding hands tightly.

Even the denial that it couldn’t be Henry standing behind Edwin vanished.

“Why are you saying this here and now?”

“Because Henry possesses the treasure due to our imprint,” Edwin replied, both revealing the reason Henry had the treasure and quashing the suspicion that Henry and Kayla had an inappropriate relationship.

Henry, feeling the weight of countless eyes boring into him, covered his face and couldn’t keep still.

He bowed his head, desperately trying to hide.

‘This is why I didn’t want it revealed.’

He recalled the original story where he had accidentally revealed the imprint on Edwin’s birthday, shocking everyone.

Remembering that, he had resolved never to let such a thing happen.

He had imagined he’d die of embarrassment if it did.

‘People might think an imprint isn’t a big deal, but…’

There were countless reasons to feel uncomfortable, the biggest being the public acknowledgment of having a special bond with this man.

It was as humiliating as a public confession in the middle of a square.

He had tried so hard to hide it, but Edwin had ruined everything.

Turning his head slightly to glare at Edwin, Henry spotted a familiar face among the crowd.

“This is crazy.”

It was Hena, standing beside the Timothys, who had blurted out those words before covering her mouth with both hands.

Henry gave her a hurt look, thinking, ‘Calling your own brother crazy is a bit much, don’t you think?’

Hena, however, returned an even more intense gaze, as if she had held back far worse words.

‘Fine, it’s my fault.’

Henry realized that to Hena, who once dreamt of marrying Edwin, he must seem like the worst.

Even though he hadn’t done it on purpose, he couldn’t blame her for feeling betrayed.

Keeping the imprint and his Omega manifestation a secret had made this moment inevitable.

He resolved to apologize to Hena later.

A public announcement in front of his parents…

Henry’s face flushed as he met the serious eyes of Duke Timothy, who clearly grasped the gravity of the situation.

‘I’m so sorry.’

Henry’s silent apology earned him a heavy sigh and a shake of the head from Duke Timothy, who seemed to say, ‘Now’s not the time.’

Feeling even more embarrassed, Henry leaned his forehead against Edwin’s shoulder, only to quickly lift his head, mortified by the number of people watching.

He didn’t collapse against Edwin but used him as a shield to block the prying eyes.

“So, that’s why you two were so close,” Crown Prince William murmured to himself, a remark Henry chose to ignore.

Duke Lorenz looked at Edwin with a heavy expression.

“When did this imprinting occur?”

“When we both manifested,” Edwin replied.

“Then, when did Timothy’s son…?”

“Five years ago, when I manifested, Henry manifested as well. He hid his Omega nature for reasons I’m sure you can understand.”

Everyone had assumed the imprint was recent.

But hearing that Henry had manifested as an Omega five years ago, and that the imprint had occurred then, shocked the room further.

“Is that why you couldn’t sense pheromones?” the duke asked.

“Yes. I can only sense Henry’s pheromones, and he’s the only one who can sense mine.”

The cause of Edwin’s inability to detect pheromones was revealed.